Grisedale walk should not to be confused with Grisedale Pike which is situated I would say as in the Keswick area of the Lake District.

This walk is close to the Ullswater lake area and follows the Grisedale Beck towards Sheepfold and therefore in definition I would consider this a Ullswater walk.

Grisedale is a low level walk surrounded by such majestic household names as St. Sunday Crag and the Helvellyn range. Helvellyn via Striding edge is not too far away and this walk is an ideal way of working up to such a rewarding high level walk whilst getting to know the Patterdale, Glenridding and Ullswater area, which I would strongly recommend.

This is a circular walk starting in Patterdale village car park. After crossing the Grisedale Beck via a footbridge, returning along a good track and country lane. It is a great walk for all the family with stunning views.

Joining the main road from the gap in the car park wall, cross the road and start to walk left. At the end of the shops , bend right and continue up a track. Follow the track round right and then take the footpath, left, as signed posted. Follow on through a copse to reach a wider track. Turn left and go through a gate onto the fell. At the wall corner take the step stile over the wall. The stile is hidden by a tree and is signed posted on the far side.

Walk on the left after crossing the stile and follow the clearly marked route over the fields to a gate and onto a track. Turn right and continue walking on to join the narrow country lane that leads from the village into Grisedale, turning left. Looking over the wall you will see the Grisedale Beck flowing, hurriedly white topped, through this very deep wooded area. Climb the hill and, prior to the first gate over the road, turn right along a country lane. Where it turns right take the gate ahead and climb the steep grassy slope. Looking backwards you can take in the view of the dale below you. Go through the gate in the wall and look for a four pointed signpost.

Turn left following the clearly marked direction of Grisedale. Walk along this path high above the beck, as it continues into the dale. Pass through an iron gate in a fence. Continue on along the footpath, before going through another iron gate, with pine trees below to your left. To your left, across the vale, you can see Birks and St Sunday Crag. Ahead and above are the mountains at the head of the valley.

Upon reaching a ruined shepherd’s hut, take the left turn just before a wooden gate. Descend via the stone wall, then following the green trod (an old sheep droving road) which today is rather unclear to see these days. Continuing on where the path goes left around a small knoll until you find the gate in the wall. Once through the gate you will see a footbridge crossing the Grisedale Beck. St Sunday Crag is now clearly visible before you and cross reference with your map will help you know your exact spot. Its at times like this you truly get to understand the area where your walking and become familiar with your surrounding. This can really help if the weather turns bad and especially if you go on to do high level more arduous local walks.

Once across the Grisedale Beck footbridge follow the narrow path left until you join the more substantial wider pathway. As you now continue to walk upon your homeward part of your walk and return to Patterdale, take a minute to look across the Grisedale valley towards the crags and beyond towards Striding Edge. Further on you will pass Elmhow farmhouse on the right of the pathway and above you will see Elmhow and Harrison Crag. On your left you should take a minute to look at the waterfall and if there has been rain on previous days you should see plenty of white water running over fall which makes it so much more worth while seeing.

If during any stay in the Ullswater Lake area there has been plenty of rain I would always recommend visiting Aira Force waterfall for a walk.

Continuing on you will come to an arched stone bridge on your left which spans the Grisdale Beck. Keeping to the footpath eventually you will come to a gate which completes the circular route that is Grisedale. It is at this point you have completed the walk and have a choice as to whether to make it a figure of eight so as not to retrace your own footsteps. So to go a different route follow the road down into Patterdale and turn right along the main back to the car park.

Latrigg Walk

Latrigg is an iconic Lakeland fell- walk and one of the lowest fells in the Lake District. It’s an all year round climb, which is very popular due to its convenient location overlooking the town of Keswick. The summit of Latrigg rewards the walker with beautiful views down the Borrowdale valley, Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake, and the Helvellyn range can be seen.

You can start a walk to the summit of Latrigg from practically anywhere within the town of Keswick and its multitude of Guest Houses with good parking available throughout.

Walking from the leisure pool making your way to Spooney Green Lane, a bridleway is clearly signposted leading to Skiddaw. The bridleway crosses the A66 and makes its way to a wooden 5 bar gate and kissing gate. Passing through the gate the path ascends the western slopes of Latrigg with views towards Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite Lake. The total ascent of Latrigg is approximately 1,000 feet with the main footpath following the western flank before it turns back towards Keswick and the summit.

For many the challenge of Latrigg is to ascend by the more strenuous routes which are not on the Ordnance Survey maps. Along these routes you may even find people out running from Keswick to the summit and back again!!

First Route to the Summit of Latrigg

As you follow the footpath upwards you will come to a small island and here you can leave the well trodden Ordnance Survey route and head off North Easterly through the pine trees. We followed this route which traversed the fell until we came to the end of the woodland area and a fence line. Along this path there are some wonderful views of Keswick and Derwent Water. Upon reaching the fence we jumped over and followed it until we reached a gate on our left.

Once through the gate it is a short walk to the summit of Latrigg and the small wooden bench seat which marks the summit. On a quiet day you may find the seat empty but we where not so lucky.

Second Route to the Summit of Latrigg

Look for a path, which turns acutely off to the right from the main Ordnance Survey track and follow this as it gracefully and partially zigzags a course to the summit of Latrigg.

On leaving Latrigg following the summit ridge North Easterly towards Blencathra and Threlkeld returning back the way we had climbed from our original approach via the fence line. Here the footpath is easily followed and on good ground as you make your way downwards and onto the road.

To make for a longer and more interesting walk we continued downwards onto the disused Keswick railway walk which is distinguished by a 5 bar gate, with a kissing gate adjacent. There is also a sign post here. Also of note is the fact that you should be able to see a wonderful old railway bridge from the gate and sign post. There is also a shelter of stone construction in which you will find the Cumbrian way of spelling 1 through 10.

Taking the railway footpath we continued on our walk away from Keswick and headed towards the Lakeland village of Threlkeld. You will find the railway path to be good quality and relatively flat, making it good for cyclists and walkers.

The railway footpath is approximately 3 miles long and was created by the Lake District Park Authority following the acquisition of part of the former Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway which closed in 1972. Over the railway footpaths 3 mile length between Threlkeld and Keswick there are 8 redundant old railway bridges which cross over the River Greta making this a wonderful walk.

We followed the railway footpath until it met the A66 and here we turned off and walked along the main through fare through the village of Threlkeld until we arrived at the Horse and Farrier where we had our lunch.

After lunch we returned the way we had come back down to the railway line path and walked along its length back in to Keswick.

Should you wish to see better quality photographs of Latrigg Walk please visit Latrigg Walk on our Lake District Walks Flickr account.